Flexible miniature carrier for sports accessories

ABSTRACT

An article and method for securely carrying a small item for personal use during and after recreational and physical activities is provided. A flexible sheet, as of foam, which may be waterproof, is formed into a receptacle for the item. An overlying flap portion of the sheet is secured back to the receptacle with Velcro® strips or the like, as with buttons or snaps, after a strap of an article of the user&#39;s clothing, as on a cap, tank top, or the like, is placed under the flap. Alternative securement devices, as slits in the carrier or as toothed snaps, are also disclosed. This securement prevents the item and carrier from flopping about during use while keeping hands and arms free of bands and constraints.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to carriers for small personal accessoriessuch as MP3 players, radios, cell phones, digital devices, flashlights,medicines and devices such as epipens or inhalers, lipstick or lip balm,cash, credit cards, keys, and the like, for safekeeping and use duringrecreational or physical activity, such as exercise, during which theuser wears baseball or golf-type hats, or clothing and accessories withstraps.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Containers and devices for carrying small items securely on the personof a user are well known, from wallets and purses to hidden coin orcurrency holders, key fobs, cellular telephone holsters, and the like.Carriers for asthma inhalers are well known in the art, for keeping anassembled canister and applicator at the ready for use in an attacksituation. Bands for holding radios and tape, compact disk, and MP3players on the upper arm or waist of a person while exercising arecommonplace. Each of such carriers includes a container area for holdingsecurely a specific device or type of device and an attachment means forholding the carrier bodily to a belt loop, belt, arm, or the like.

No device is known for affixing a small container to an existing strapof an article of the user's clothing (tank top strap, bra strap, strapat the back of a cap), purse, or backpack, for holding and protecting adevice or item in the container from jostling and damage during physicalactivity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a small flexible containerwhich may be fixed to a strap on an article of clothing of a user andsecured with snaps, Velcro® strips, hooks, buttons, or like fasteners.The container closely fits the item to be enclosed, whether an MP3player, cell phone, radio or other digital device, a lipstick or lipbalm applicator, a credit card, money, key, or the like, and holds it asagainst loss while also preferably protecting it from sweat, rain, andthe like while in use. Because the container and carrier are heldclosely to a strap, as on the rear of a cap or on the strap of aclothing top, there is less opportunity for joggling of the containerand enclosed device as the user moves—sometimes jerkily—as in exercisingthan is the case where a cable or hook device is used. Wires runningfrom the enclosed device to the user's ears are less likely to interferewith the user's movements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier of the present application,holding an enclosed MP3 player and attached to a strap of the user'sclothing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carrier of FIG. 1 opened and withoutthe player enclosed.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the carrier of FIG. 1 with a portion of thestrap to which the carrier is attached.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the carrier ofthe present invention, enclosing a lipstick or similar object andattached to a strap of the user's clothing.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the carrier of FIG. 4 opened and withoutthe lipstick or, alternatively, a credit card as shown enclosed therein,and with a portion of an adjacent strap.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the carrier of FIG. 4, taken on line 6-6thereof.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cap with a carrier for an MP3 playerattached to the rear adjustment strap thereof.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tank top with the carrier of thisinvention being attached to one shoulder strap thereof.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate attachment method, where afree end of a strap is passed through slots or slits in the carrier forsecure attachment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a further alternative attachment methodfor the carrier, where snap-clamps that open on spring hinges areconnected with the body of the carrier and grasp the strap with toothedinner surfaces.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A wearable carrier 10 for a small personal item 12 such as an MP3player, or lipstick, money, and the like, is made of a durable materialthat is preferably waterproof but need not be, depending on the intendeduses for the carrier. The sheet material 14 may be of one or more pliesof resilient, netted, expanded or foamed material and is cut to adesired width depending on the length of the item 12 to be carried. Asshown in FIG. 1, one end 16 of the sheet material 14 is sewn, glued,welded, or otherwise securely and permanently attached as along line 18back to the material 14, forming a generally cylindrical receptacle 20with a space or volume inwardly of the sheet material 14 that is sizedto receive snugly the article 12 to be carried. A flap of material 22 ofthe sheet 14 beyond the line 18 is long enough to extend over or partlyabout the receptacle 20 of the carrier 10. An inner side of the flapmaterial 22 is fitted with a Velcro® hook and loop or like strip ofmaterial 24 or other closure device with cooperates with a like strip ordevice 26 on the adjacent body of the carrier 10.

When the flap 22 is open as in FIG. 2, a strap 28 of a cap, backpack,tank top, or the like can be passed between the flap 22 and the body ofthe carrier 10; and the flap 22 is then closed over the body to capturethe strap, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 7, and 8.

The body of the carrier 10 may be apertured as at 30 in FIG. 1 and 2 soas to pass, or allow direct access to, control buttons 32 provided onthe exterior of the item 12, such as an MP3 player, that is to becontained within the carrier 10 during use. The apertures may be customfit for each model or brand of device 12, and so the carrier 10 ispreferably provided with each such device 12 or may be marketed and soldfor such use with a specific device. Wires 34 from the item or device12, if any, as for earbuds, are then passed about the user to the earsor other location, as in FIG. 7.

An alternative design of the carrier of the invention is shown at 110 inFIGS. 4-6. In this embodiment, each end of the receptacle portion 120 isclosed by a permanent wall 121, as shown, sewn, glued, welded, formedintegrally with, or otherwise permanently secured to edge portions ofthe material of the carrier 110 and receptacle 120. This form of theinvention is adapted more generally to enclose and carry securely avariety of small items that may be needed while exercising or engagingin other physical or recreational activity. A lipstick 112 or a creditcard 113 may be placed into the generally cylindrical receptacle 120,which will configure itself by stretching somewhat to accommodate theitem. As in the FIGS. 1-3 embodiment, a flap 122 extends from attachmentpoints 118, at two of the upper edges of the end walls 121 and themiddle of the material 114 along the side edges, to a free edge asshown. Velcro or similar patches or other secure attachment means 124,126 are provided on the inner side of the flap 122 and the outer surfaceof the receptacle 120 as shown.

The carrier 110 of FIGS. 4-6 is used in the same manner as the carrier10 of FIGS. 1-3. A small item as lipstick 112, money, a credit card 113,or the like is placed within the receptacle 120. A strap 28 of a cap,tank top, or other article of clothing is passed between the flap 122and the body of the receptacle 120 and the Velcro or other fastenerstrips 124, 126 are pressed together to secure the carrier 110 to thestrap 28. The carrier is then used during exercise or recreation, as inFIG. 7, leaving the user's hands and pockets free but the item withinthe carrier securely attached to the user's clothing until removed.

Many variations may be made in the invention as shown and its manner ofuse, without departing from the principles of the invention as describedherein and/or as claimed as our invention. Minor variations will notavoid the use of the invention. For instance, the carrier 220 or a flap222 may be slit or apertured as in FIG. 9, for running a free-endedstrap 228 through the slits for attachment. Hinged snapping clamps 324with teeth 326 to clamp securely onto material, such as on an edge of afitted cap 328 not having a strap, may be used, as in FIG. 10. Inaccordance with the invention, each such attachment avoids flapping andflopping about of the carrier and the item within it, as well asaffording less constraint on the user's movements due to the placementof wires from MP3 players and like devices, as is suffered in usingknown prior art devices.

1. A wearable carrier for a small personal item for use and safety ofthe item particularly while its user is physically active, the carriercomprising a flexible enclosure for the item fitting snugly to and aboutthe item and a flap of material of the enclosure extending from theenclosure itself to a free edge, the flap having therein or thereon anattachment means for cooperating with a portion of the enclosure forsecuring the flap back to the enclosure, whereby the flap is adapted tobe passed around a strap of an article of clothing or headgear,backpack, or purse of the user and secured to the enclosure of thecarrier.
 2. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the attachment meanscomprises one of a Velcro® type hook and loop fastener strip or pad,button, snaps, and other closure device.
 3. The carrier of claim 1,further comprising a hinged, toothed clamp adapted to removably graspthe article of clothing outside the flap of the enclosure and withoutpassing the flap about any strap on said article.
 4. The carrier ofclaim 1, wherein the enclosure is perforated at one or more places onits exterior to expose to the user operating controls of a device withinthe enclosure.
 5. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the material of theenclosure is impervious to water.
 6. The carrier of claim 1, wherein theenclosure comprises a generally cylindrical form that is open at bothends and wherein the flap extends from a side of the form.
 7. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the enclosure comprises a generallycylindrical form that is closed at both ends by end walls.
 8. A methodof carrying a small personal item during recreational activity and whilewearing an article of clothing or an accessory which has at least one ofa strap and an edge, the method comprising the steps of: enclosing theitem in a flexible carrier fitted to the item; affixing the carriereither about any strap on said clothing by using a flap, or slits in thecarrier, or to said edge of said article of clothing by a toothedattachment means on the carrier; and fixing a free end of the flap ofmaterial back to attach onto the carrier.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising the step of adjusting a control on the item while itis carried on the clothing strap or edge, by manipulating the controlthrough an aperture in the carrier that corresponds with the control.